The biceps have high visibility and signify power perhaps like no other body part. When judging your appearance, most people won’t ask to see your calves, but your arms. Therefore, training the biceps is a must for anyone who cares about achieving a warrior look and developing considerable strength in the upper body. No matter if you’re a seasoned bodybuilder or a bodybuilding novice, this great bicep workout program that can help you get your guns in an award-winning shape sooner than you think.
The exercises:
#1. Close chin-ups
The difference between this version and the regular chin-ups is that this one requires you to keep your hands closer together in order to make the most use of your arms strength when pulling your body off the ground. Grab the pull-up bar with the palms facing your torso and a grip narrower than shoulder width. Keeping your torso as straight as possible and your elbows close to the body while maintaining a natural arch in the lower back, pull your torso up until your head is at the level of the pull-up bar and focus on the contraction in your biceps. If you don’t have the required level of strength to perform chin-ups with proper form yet, use a pull-up assist machine.
#2. Standing barbell curls
Stand up with an upright torso and hold a barbell at shoulder width with your palms facing away from the body and your elbows close to the torso. Keeping the upper arms stationary, flex your elbows and curl the weight up until your biceps are fully contracted and the bar is at shoulder level. Hold the contracted position for a second.
#3. Preacher curls
Sit on a preacher bench and grasp an EZ bar with an underhand grip. Your hands should be about shoulder width apart. With the upper arms positioned against the preacher bench pad, hold the bar at shoulder height. Slowly lower the bar until your biceps are fully stretched, then curl the weight up until your biceps are fully contracted and the bar is again at shoulder height. Hold the contracted position for a second.
#4. Dumbbell curls
These are performed in a similar way as the standing barbell curls, but in this version, the dumbbells should fall a little to the side instead of falling straight in front of your thighs. Stand up straight with a dumbbell in each hand, keep your elbows close to your torso and rotate the palms of your hands until they’re facing forward. By contracting your biceps and flexing your elbows, curl the weights up until your biceps are fully contracted and the dumbbells are at shoulder level. Hold the contracted position for a second.
#5. Incline dumbbell curls
Instead of using a flat bench, adjust it to a 45 degree angle. Grab a dumbbell in each hand and rotate the palms of your hands to face forward. Keeping the upper arms stationary and the elbows close to your torso, curl the weights forward while contracting the biceps as hard as you can until the dumbbells are at shoulder level. Hold the contracted position for a second.
#6. Hammer curls
In a standing position, grab a dumbbell in each hand with the palms facing the body and keep your elbows close to the body. Keeping the upper arms stationary, curl the weights up while keeping your knuckles facing one another, until the biceps are fully contracted and the dumbbells are at shoulder level. Hold the contracted position for a second.
#7. Concentration curls
This movement is performed one arm at a time in order to achieve full focus on the muscles being worked, thereby improving the mind-muscle connection. Sit and have the elbow of your working arm rest on your knee. Extend the elbow and curl the weight up in a slow, controlled manner, then bring it back down in the same concentrated way.
The biceps training program for beginners:
Here’s how to get from zero to hero in just four weeks, manipulating with volume and intensity in order to increase strength and stimulate growth.
Week 1, Day 1: 2 sets of 10-12 reps of 3 of the above mentioned exercises using light weights.
Week 1, Day 3: 2 sets of 10-12 reps of the exercises you didn’t choose on Day 1, using light weights.
Week 1, Day 5: 2 sets of 8-10 reps of 5 exercises using medium weights.
Week 2, Day 1: 3 sets of 8-10 reps of 4 exercises using medium weights.
Week 2, Day 3: 2 sets of 10-12 reps of 5 exercises using medium weights.
Week 2, Day 5: 2 sets of 10-12 reps of 5 exercises using medium weights.
Week 3, Day 1: 3 sets of 10-12 reps of 5 exercises using light weights.
Week 3, Day 3: 3 sets of 8-10 reps of 5 exercises using light weights.
Week 3, Day 5: 1 set of 6-8 reps of 3 exercises using heavy weights.
Week 4, Day 1: 2 sets of 6-8 reps of 2 exercises using heavy weights.
Week 4, Day 3: 3 sets of 6-8 reps of 2 exercises using heavy weights.
Week 4, Day 5: 1 set of as many reps as you can of 2 exercises, using the heaviest weight you can handle.
Enjoy watching your biceps grow!
